Romance 'alive and kicking' among young couples

Washington, Feb 11: A new survey has revealed that most young men and women in long-term relationships admit that they are very satisfied and very much in love with each other.

In a world dominated by news of hookups and breakups, these results offer a pleasant surprise, according to sociologists Elizabeth Wildsmith and Jennifer Manlove, who recently published their findings in a brief for Child Trends, a nonpartisan research center.

Young couples gave high marks to their relationships regardless of whether they were married, cohabiting or dating, the researchers said.

The data comes from a unique source - roughly 1,500 heterosexual couples, ages 18 to 26, who were part of the "Romantic Pairs" subgroup in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (ADD Health), which has followed the same massive group of youths since high school, the Washington Times reported.

To be included in the "Romantic Pairs" sample in 2001 and 2002, participants had to have been in their relationships for three months or longer and have a partner who was also willing to answer questions about their relationship satisfaction, commitment, permanence and love.

This unprecedented sample size and participation - getting answers from both people in a relationship - underscored the importance of the main finding, which was that "the vast majority of young men and young women feel very positively about their relationships," the ChildTrends brief, published in December, said.

For instance, asked whether they "love their partner a lot," young married couples felt strongly about their partners, with 94 percent of husbands and 96 percent of wives saying yes.

Among cohabiting and dating couples, love was also very strong, with 82 percent to 91 percent of partners answering in the affirmative.

In addition, more than 80 percent of husbands and wives said they were "very satisfied" with their unions. Couples in cohabiting and dating relationships were also positive, with 70 percent to 75 percent saying they were very happy with each other. (ANI)